Can-washing machine.



A. B; HERR.

CAN WASHING MACHINE.

APPLlc/moN `FILED FEB. 19. 1917.

Patented Oct. 8, 1918.

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CAN WASHING MACHINE.

YAPPLICATION FILED FEB-19.19I7.

Il MI5 i d I TED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.-

' ABRAM B. I-IERR, 0F LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSINOR TO SANITARY CAN WASHER C0., 0F LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

CAN-WASHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. s, 191s,

Application filed February 19, 1917. Serial No. 149,522.

4chines,-and more particularly to means for rinsing, sterilizing and drying cans which have previously passed through a prelinii` nary cleansing or scrubbing operation. The machine is particularly adapted for usein washing milk cans and the like, and the invention has fo' an object to provide a'conveyer that will periodically advance the cans or other receptacles over suitable devices, which in turn further clean or wash, sterilize and diy the cans or receptacles. In the art of can-washing,and in the adapt-ationofLK any character of machinery to the scrubbing,l

washing, sterilizing and drying of receptacles, such as milk cans, it is necessary, parti'cularly in view of existing laws 'luid regulations governing the cleanliness ofmilk cans, that the cans be thoroughly clez'ined and sterilized so that when they subsequently receive their contents, the samefwill not become contaminated in any manner whatsoever by foreign matter contained in the cans, which latter would also tend to spoil.or sour milk or other fluids or substances, subseqnently` placed in the ans. In connection with various can-washing machinery that I.

have invented and am acquainted with, I find that the washing of the cans is accomplished with such speed and precision, that it is necessary to have some forni of machinery arranged in juxtaposition to the can-scrubbing machinery, whereby the scrubbed can can be subjected to a jet of hot water to thoroughly clean the interior of the can after it has been scrubbed, and act as a rinsing fluid therefor,

after which the can is subjected to sterilization by steam, )and then thoroughly dried, sov

that the cleaned, sanitary, sterilized can will be fit for use in the shortest possible time,

after it has been subjected to the scrubbing, sterilizing and drying operations. and to this end I nd it policy to provide a mechanism which will take care of several cans at one time, subjecting various of the cans to the rinsing` sterilizing and drying operations, while another of the cans is bein scrubbed preparatory tov following out susequently the same proceeding of being rinsed, sterilized and dried.

lVith this aiin in view I have devised a machine embodying a suitable conveyer, uponivhich a can is deposited after it has been scrubbed, 'and upon which the can rests while a second can is being scrubbed, the trst can being periodically subjected to the rinsing operation and the steriliziiig operation, so that. when the can passes the sterilizlng operation, the conveyer is ready to receive the second an that has been scrubbed, in position to rinse the saine, the conveyer furthermore being ready to receive the. third can that/has been scrubbed, when the tirst. can has been advanced to drying position, and the second can advanced to sterilizing position, the place of rinsing of the last can to be scrubbed being now ready to receive that can, so that a fourth can can beI ar- 'ijanged in the' scrubbing machinery, while the other three cans are being either rinsed, sterilized or dried.

In the, further disclosure. of the invention reference is tobe had to the `accompanying drawings constituting` a part of this specilication, in which similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the conveyer mechanism, illustrating the same as employed in connection with milk fan scrubbing mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through the conveyer mechanism and its cooperating rdrying elements.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the conveyer.

Fig. l is a transverse sectional view taken along the line -I-l vof Fig. 1.

Fig. 5A is a detail view of the'luidssupplying mechanism.

soV

Fig. G is a detail top plan view of they clutch structure for controlling the application ofpower to the conveyei'.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 7`7 of Fig. 6.

Y The remaining figures are detail views of the conveyer.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the conveying mechanism l, isl preferably employed to clean, sterilize and to dry milk cans, and is particularly adapted for use in connection with the can-washing machine set forth in my co-pending applica-` tion ybearing Serial No. 43,540 filed August i. 2:0 teris provided with a sliding clutch sleevev 4,1915. .TheI conveyer inthis instance consists of metallic, spaced bed plates 2, having Ajournaled, contiguous to its forward'end, a

.. for rotationupon a shaft 10 carried by the rear ends of the plates 2.A l .In order that the movement of the sprocket 5 will be transmittedto the shaft 3, the lat- 11, which While capable of rotating in connection with the shaft, will .be permitted to slide longitudinally thereon, as will be clearly understood. Thesleeve 11v and the hub ofthe sprocket 5.are provided with ina ter-locking clutch teeth, so that when the lat- .v Vter are in engagement, the movement ofthe l n' sprocket 5 will be imparted tothe shaft 3.

'i plurality of spaced'I cleats 12, arranged in pairs, said cleats being adapted to travel inx unison with the chain 8, and so constructed Secured tothe links of the chains 8 ,are a -that the ends thereof will rest uponand upper margins of the conveyer belt or chains slide over theupper edges of` the plates 2." Coperatingv with the mechamsm above;

described are cleaning and sterilizing jets,

13 and 14 respectively, the latter being pref erably positioned between the plates 2, ad-

jacent-to the forward portions of the latter,

and terminating immediately beneath the 8. Thus it will be seen, upon vreferringv to Fig. 1, that when the milk cans 15 are p'ositioned upon the conveyer belt, the same will be positioned, by mechanism to be here- -inafter described, `immediately a'bove the jets 13'and 14, so that the fluid ejections of l the latter will be forced into the interior of the cans l5, under pressure, so as to effectively remove any foreign matter orother objectionable matter which may be found within said cans.

In order to supply fluid to the jet 13, I preferably usel a water-su ply tank 16, which is filled to a predetermined level. The quantity of water within the tank 16 is controlled by providing the water entrance pipe 17 thereof with a' valve 18, the latter being located interiorly of the tank 16, and having the arm 19 thereof connected with the ball float 20, so that when the float arrives at a certain position within the tank 16, the supply of water to the latter will be automatically shut off. An outlet pipe 21 4'extends from the tank' 16 `and is provided with a check-valve 22, which will permit Water to flow out of the tank, but prevents 'a similar ,return of 'the same even when under the l' influence of pressure. Y

It will be noted that the upper end of the jet- 13 is. disposed substantially in alinement, with thewater level of the tank 16, there-l fore, in order to force water out of the jet 13 under pressure, use is'made of a steamsupply pipe 23, having a controlling valve 24 carried thereby, lThus when the can. I brushing `and scrubbing l.machine 25 is thrown intooperation by the action of its 80 controlling lever 26, the Valve 24 will be revolved'toassumean open position, through the. agency of the link 27 This action, as

will be obvious,'places steam pressure upon the Water contained within the jet 13 and 'its .assoclated pipes 28, leading to the tank 16, so that'water or any other cleansing fluid will be ejected from the jet 13 and forced with considerable pressure into thev milk vcans supported by the conveyer belt. The

pressure of the water when leavingthe jet 13 may be regulated by the hand-operated valve 29 carried by said jet. It will be noted that the check valve 22 will prevent the being forced backinto the tank 16. VWhen the controlling lever 26 is in the position indicated by Fig. 1, the gears 30 utilized i-n effecting the operation of the brushes 31 are in mesh, sothatthe operation of thejet 13 l Aand the mechanism -25wi'll be synchronized.

The jet- 14 is merely supplied with steam,

andfthis is effected by providing the steam lwater contained within the pipes 28` from.i

supplyjpipe with a T 32, from which exl tends apipe 33 leading to the'ljet 14. Thus when the valve 24 assumes an open position,

the'jets 13 and 14. will be simultaneouslyl operated, that is, the-jet 13 will supply the `cans'15` with a quantity'of water,funder I.

pressure, whilethe jet 14 will emit a suitable quantity of steam so as to sterilize the* interiorof said cans.

The cans 15V are moved intermittently to various positions by the conveyer belt, for instance, from the jet 13 to the jeta 14, and in orderto accomplish this the clutch sleeve 11 is formed with anannular groove 34. Positioned within said groove is the fdrked extremity of a clutch operating arm 35, the latter bein-g slidably mounted in bearings provided by the plates 2. A bolt or an equivalent 36 is secured to the free end of the arm 35 and operates within an elongated slot 37 provided in one extremity of a link 38. The opposite end of .said link is pivotally connected with theouter end of acrank 39 keyed upon a countershaft 40, rotatably mounted in fixed bearings 41 protruding from one of the plates 2. The shaft 40 also carries a second fixed crank arm 42, whlch extends inwardly and is disposed within the path of travel-of a cam element 43, securedv to one extremity-of the shaft 3. From the foregoing it Will be seen that when the shaft 3 makes a-.complete revoluj tion, which is sufcient to enable a can15 and thearin 35 so as to disengage the clutch sleeve 11 with -the ratchet teeth formed on` the hub of the sprocket 5, thus automatically effecting the stopping of the'conveyer,-

` It'might'be advisable tostate at this juncture 4that when a canfhas Vbeen kscrubbed by beltl at predetermined positions. t This action is 'enhanced by yprovidingthe countershaft t i with a third crank Iarin44 from which extends a vertical link45, the latter'leading to: i a bell crank lever 46 carried upon a shaft 47, journaled inA ixedbearings 48 preferabl-y carried by the plate2'. )One -end of v the bell crank 46 is provided with a Aweight v 49 which is adapted to oscillate between fixed points 50 provided by one ofthe bearings 48; Thus it Will be manifest that when the shaft .4C-is revolved by the action ofthe cam element 43 engaging with the crank. arm 42, the Weighted bell crank :.46 will re-i volve from the position indicated in Fig.' 7 to engagement with one of the fixed posi-- tions 50@l The slotf37 provided in the linkk 38 will permit the Weighted end of the bellv crank to assume a substantially vertical position, With respect tothe shaft 47, before the action of the bell crank will reciprocate the arm 35 and the link 3 8, however,as soon as the bell crank has passed this vertical position the latter elements, .Which have re# -mained inactive through the provision of Y the slot 37, V'will be sharply and quickly pulled, so as to effect the disengagement of the clutch sleeve 11 lwith'the sprocket 5, which results in the immediate stop of the conveyer belt. `In order. that the conveyer belt will be ina state of. operation, trans ferring the milk cans from one operating position to another, t when the brushing mechanism 25 is inactive, the shaft 47 is eX-.

tended so as to liecontiguousto theflower end of the controlling lever 26.` The latter is provided with an offset. member 51 which is adapted to engage with a crank arm 52 provided near the eXtreme outer end ofthe shaft 47, when said lever 26 is oscillated to a position throwing the mechanism 25 to an inactive position. `Thus the engagement of the members 51 and 52 will'result in the partial rotation of the shaft 47 which Will throw the weighted bell crank from its out of gear position lto an ingear position. This action results in the interlocking of the clutch sleeve 11 with the sprocketl 5 so that movement will be' imparted to the conveyeibelt. stopping the movement of the conveyer belt have been above described. Fioiii the fore- The means for automatically fgoing it wiii be gathered that when the' brushingmachine 25 has been thrown into operation, through the medium of the lever 26, the milkl cans carried by the conveycrf' will 'be subjected' to a cleaning operation,

eifectedthrough the action of the jetsi 13 and 14, which are controlled by `the relation `existing between the lever 26 and the valvev When'the brushing machine is inactive the conveyer belt Willbe thrown into' a state of movement, -which 'is principally effected bythe action'of the leverv26upon the crank member `52,-. as will be clearly understood.- j

the mechanism25, the same is removed from position upon a conveyer, substantially over 'the jet 13, this is practically Vthe only manual operation that is necessary to effect the After the niilkcans have` been subjected to Ythe action of the jets 13 andl 14the samey are moved -by the operation `of the conveyer belt yto positionsover a plurality of yheating -jets 53, so-.that the interior of the cans v'vill be thoroughly dried-before leavingv the conveye'r.' To this enduse is made of a casing 'Y 55, located adjacent to theunder and rear ,the latter and' manually transferred to the I 56 which is preferably operated through the agency 'of an electrical motor` 57.; Thus air I drawn through a foraminous screen" 58 will "be forced by means ofgthefan 56 intothe icou" interorof the casing 55. .Coils 59 arefl mounted -within the casing 55 and arepref-f' erably vheated by passing steam, obtained from any suitable. source, therethrough.

Thus air directed upon the coi'ls `by the acf een of the fante Wiii t@ thorougiiiy heated, whence the samewill be discharged from'the casing into an outlet pipe 60, which is 'branched toprovide the heating jets 53 and 54. Usuallyfheat is being emittedbyv the latter jets while the conve-yer is in operation,

,as so far it'has not been found advisable to intermittently y.control thefow ofthegheat-ff i ing fluid out of the jets V53,'and54. It will: be noted 'that the jets 13,A 14, 53, and 54 are equally spaced, soA thatk the. intermittent travel of the milk cans along .theconveyermay be easilyregulated.

have been achieved, and tha-tall of the advantageous features above mentioned are,

among others, present. The machine will thoroughly effect the washing, sterilizing and drying of the milk cans to the desired degree of. immaculatey cleanliness, so yas to conform to the most stringenty of existing laws and regulations.governing this feature.r

portions of thejplates'2.y, Mounted within I the casing is a suitable forni of suction fan l The water utilized can be heated to a, much higher temperature than when manual labor is to Ibe employed in the washing operation and theconveyer belt permits the cans to be operated upon so that they may be subjected means for operating said conveyer belt upon said frame, said cans beingvinverted upon the conveyer belt, and advanced therewith in its operation, a jet of rinsing water on the frame in juxtaposition to the conveyer belt, a jet of steam on the frame in juxtaposition to the conveyer belt, and a hot air jet on the frame in juxtaposition to the conveyer belt, the cans on the conveyer belt being in turn subjected to the laction of fiuid from the rinsing jet, of sterilizing steam yromthe steam jet, and of hot air fr0m the hot air jet, the latter operation drying said cans, means for starting and stopping the conveyer belt, and means connected therewith for admitting steam to the steam jet and simultaneously placing the rinsing water under steam pressure, rotating brush mechanism, and means where-l i by. the latter is thrown into operation when the movement of the conveyer is discontinued. I

2. A device of the class described, comprising a frame and conveyer belt thereon adapted to receive cans, means for operating the conveyer belt toadvance. the cans over the frame, a rinsing jet on the frame in juxtaposition to the conveyer belt for rinsing a can received insuper--position to the jet, a steam jet on the frame in juxtaposition to the conveyer belt to sterilize the can received in super-position to the steam jet, and a hot air jet on the frame in juxtaposition to the conveyer belt to subject a can received in super-position thereto to the action ofy hot air to dry the interior of the can, means for starting and stopping the conveyer belt, and means connected therewith for admitting steam to the steam jet Aand lsimultaneously placing the rinsing water under steam pressure, rotating brush mechanism, and means whereby the latter is thrown into operation when the movement of theconveyer is discontinued. 1 I

3. A device ofthe class described, comprising a frame and conveyerl belt thereon adapted to receive cans, means for operating the conveyer belt to advance the cans over the frame, a rinsing jet on the frame in juxtaposition to the conveyer belt for rinsing a can received in superposition to the jet, a steam jetl on the frame in juxtaposition to the conveyer belt to sterilize the can received in super-position to the steam jet, and a hot air jet on the frame in juxtaposition to the conveyer belt to subject a can received in super-position thereto to the action of hot air to dry the interior of the can, the cans being intermittently advanced in succession from said rinsing jet` steamjet and hot air jet, means for starting and stopping the conveyer belt, and means connected therewith for admitting steam to the steam jet and simultaneously placing the rinsing water under steam pressure, rotating brush mechanism, and means whereby the latter is thrown into operation when the movement of the conveyer is discontinued.

4. A device of the character described, comprising a frame, a can-supporting con` veyer belt on the frame, a rinsing jet on the frame for subjecting the can to a rinsing, a steam jet on the frame for subjecting the can to sterilization, a hot air jet on the frame for drying the can, and means for starting and stopping the conveyer belt, a water tank anda pipe connected therewith and with the water jet, a steam -main connected with the steam jet, means connecting said main with the water pipe for placing the water under pressure, a valve controlling simultaneously the admission of steam to the pipe and the main, and means for operating the valve and simultaneously controlling the means for starting and stopping the conveyer.

5. A device of the character described, the combination with a conveyerfbelt, of means for intermittently eifecting the operation of said belt, whereby cans associated with said belt will be moved to dii'erent cleaning and drying positions, a rinsing water emitting jet coperating with said conveyer belt, and loc-ated to aline with the open extremity of a milk can associated with said conveyer belt, a steam emitting jet spaced from the former jet, and Ahaving communication with the source of supply of the latter, means for starting and stopping the `conveyer belt, a water tank and a pipe connected therewith and with the waterjet, a steam main connected with the steam jet, means connecting said main with the water pipe for plac ing the water under pressure, a valve controlling simultaneously the admission of steam to the pipe and the main, and means for opening the valve and simultaneously stopping the conveyer.

6. A device of the character described, the

combination with a conveyer belt, of spaced rinsing and sterilizing jets coperating with said belt, means for supplyingsaid jets with fluid, a valve controlling both of said jets,

means for operating the valve and simul` taneously stopping the conveyer, and means j in the path of movement of the conveyer for supplying a continuous blast of hot air, said valve being opened upon vthe stopping of the conveyer.

7. A device of the character described, the

combination with a conveyer belt, of spacedY 8. In a device of the class described, a conveyerV lbelt, a rotating brush, driving mechanism, a Controlling lever, a ,plurality of uid jets and pipes for supplying said jets, a. single device controlling the admission of steam to one of. the jets and water under steam pressure to the other of said jets, means whereby the controlling device is governed by the controlling lever, means whereby the movement yof the conveyor is discontinued periodically, gravityv controlled means for rendering such operation positive, and means for throwing the rotating brush into action when the lever is thrown to stop the conveyer,

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ABRAM B. HERR. 

